


Next Gen Ninja

by Enderdragonlove



Series: Next Gen Ninja [1]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Humor, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-09-07 05:43:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20304403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enderdragonlove/pseuds/Enderdragonlove
Summary: This story is an alternate timeline where canonical events up to and including Skybound happen (with a few differences) with years of relative peace following.~*Updates Sundays*~The ninja now have kids who must train to take their place. In this season we will learn more about them as we follow Lucas Garmadon-Taylors, Lloyd's successor, and his sister, Luna Garmadon-Taylors, the Successor to Ace Taylors, Pink Ninja and niece to Jacob, the Master of Sound. For Lucas is torn between his destiny and his dreams. With Luna hoping to aid her brother with his disfunctional powers.This is..Next Gen Ninja.





	1. Episode 1: Green and Pink

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I know you wanna get to the story, so let's get to the point!  
In this series, you'll find character bios if you need some more info! Just head to Next Gen Ninja Character Bios!  
If you wish to make fan art, you may submit to the Next Gen Ninja fan art Tumblr page at @next-gen-ninja-fan-art  
You can also view the story there at @next-gen-ninja-official  
There you can even see pictures of the kids!  
Finally, thanks for reading this!

It was the last class of the school day, yet for one boy, it couldn't go by quickly enough. At least watching the dragons flying through the clouds could keep him busy. He was sketching the soaring reptile when he was disturbed by a crumpled paper ball bounced off the hood of his black jacket. When he turned to see who did it, a kid sneered and pointed to the teacher.

"Lucas Garmadon-Taylors," she spoke up, gaining the blond boy's attention, "What have I told you about wearing that hood? Plus you should know the dress code by now, any unnatural colored hair dye is not permitted as it can cause a distraction. Last time I checked, being the son of a ninja doesn't suddenly get rid of a green area of hair, which is clearly visible in the front."

With a sigh, Lucas pulled down his hood and mumbled, "It's called a fringe.. Plus the counselor said I could as it comforts me.." This was the one thing he disliked about his math class, his teacher practically lived and died for the rules, no matter how absurd. Since when was hair distracting? 

"What did you say?" Ms. Ming asked the young student, "Perhaps you can speak up? Unless of course you have nothing worth mentioning."

The boy was silent, not wishing to speak up. This caused the other kids to chuckle. To them, this was the funniest thing they have ever seen, the son of the Green Ninja can't even stand up for himself? The image itself was comedic for them, but seeing it in real life was hilarious.

"That's what I thought," the teacher stated, "Now everyone, please pay attention as we multiply these decimals." Lucas sighed as Ms. Ming returned to the board. He knew the answer already, he often found himself practicing math and coding in his free time. Sometimes, it felt as if writing programs and drawing were his only escapes from reality. Not that it lasts long for him, there's always something going on. Including now.

"Hey, Lucas, what's this?" a voice came from in front of him.

Lucas snapped his gaze to the notebook in front of his face, "Hey, give that back!" He tried to take it back. Imagine what those other kids would do to his drawings! He had to get it back!

"Some son of a ninja you are," the other boy teased, "Can't even see when someone sneaks up on you. Man, what's in here anyway?" The other boy started flipping through the pages.

"That's personal!" Lucas hissed, crawling over his desk to grab his notebook, "Give it back!"

The other boy kept pulling Lucas' notebook away and smirked at him, "You're the Green Ninja's son, shouldn't you be able to get it on your own?"

"My mom's a ninja too, you know!" Lucas grunted in frustration.

"Wow, so even more of a reason for you not to suck so much," the boy then tore out a page of his notebook, "Hey, look at this drawing! What is this, a diseased dragon?"

"Earth Dragons are known for growing crystals on their scales!" Lucas countered, "It's because deep in the caves they live in, minerals drip down onto their scales, building up into rock formations and crystals!"

"Lucas, Atticus!" Ms. Ming called them, "What is so important that you two disturb the rest of the class to discuss?!" She crossed her arms, ready to dish a punishment seemingly at the crack of a whip.

"He stole my journal," Lucas mumbled, sitting in his seat and looking away.

"Lucas, speak up please," Ms. Ming instructed before Atticus jumped in.

"I'm sorry Ms. Ming, but Lucas was climbing over his desk and bothering me!" Atticus turned to point at Lucas, "Can't you do something?"

The teacher sighed, yet again another distraction by the one kid who was different than the others. What will she ever do with him? "Lucas, head to the counselor please."

With a sigh of routine, Lucas gathered his things and left the classroom.

*****

Lucas looked to the poster on the wall, waiting as his mother hurried to the school. 'Hang in there,' it said. 'Story of my life,' Lucas thought as he sighed. Out of all the kids in the class, why was he the one everyone makes fun of?

That’s when the door opened, the familiar face of his beloved mother seeming to overwhelm him into running at full force to hug her. She actually understood how he felt.. whenever he explained this stuff.. the things that happened at school, the misunderstandings.. she made him feel like maybe he wasn’t so stupid or weird.. and that he wasn’t a bad kid as he knew the teachers thought. 

In turn,the woman knelt down and sighed, hugging him gently. “Oh hun.." she muttered as she rubbed his back. “what happened now..?” She asked hesitantly as she looked at the teacher and took her seat. 

"Well Mrs. Taylors," the counselor began, "It appears the kids in his class were making fun of him again. And as we know by this point, Ms. Ming didn't consider his side of the story as according to Lucas, he was outspoken and assumed to be causing a disturbance. All of which happened due to his notebook being stolen by the kid who made fun of him today. To be honest, I'm getting worried for him. He is incredibly smart, but seems to be pushed around by the others." 

This caused a sigh the pass the woman’s lips. “I’ve been thinking the same thing," she really liked the counselor, she always listened to Lucas and gave him space to talk. “But..ah just don’t really know what to do about it." To be honest, Lucas’ mother hated that maths teacher. Sometimes he’d overhear her and his dad talking about it. She was the master of sound, after all. She didn’t mean for him to hear! 

But he would. And he’d hear that the teacher should keep said bullies in line, because if a child didn’t feel safe in the classroom, then even if they’re teaching, they’re not doing their jobs. 

Yet, just like his father, Lucas was stubborn. He kept going to school anyway. Lucas knew there was value in knowledge. So as long as he wasn't seriously hurt, he was fine right? Well, that's what he thought anyway.

"Well," the counselor sighed, "I would like for him to build some self-confidence first of all. It would make him less of a target. Second, I have a feeling they're jealous of him. Kids can be mean to those that they believe are on a higher level than them." The counselor then turned to Lucas, "Even if they didn't ask for it." 

She then sighed and looked back to Ace, "In a way, I think it's why Lucas keeps telling me that he doesn't want anything to do with being a ninja. He doesn't want to be bullied for it."

His mother sighed once more. She knew he didn’t want to be a ninja, and she hated the thought of pushing her child towards a life he didn’t want. But it was out of her hands. It was his destiny. If he didn’t become the next Green Ninja, then many would perish. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.. but she never thought those few would be her own children. For a moment, she stayed silent, staring at the floor, looking almost guilty. “Yeah..” was all she was able to mutter. 

After an uncomfortable moment of silence, she looked up. “That is.. in itself a.. very complex issue.. neither of us really know what ta do about that..” this time she was referring to her husband, the one in their family that was best known, Lloyd Garmadon. 

"Well," the counselor sat in thought for a bit, "His destiny is in the claws of the Golden Dragon alone. With that being said, knowing the incident where he blacked out and set a desk on fire, I believe the Golden Dragon already made its choice. For him to be a ninja as well as its next champion. But I'll tell you what, if we work on his self-confidence, perhaps we can meet again and discuss his future?"

"Well.. that’s the thing.. ah know very well how much bullying can affect a child.. and I think.. if he stays in a place where he’s guaranteed ta get bullied.. there’s nothing we can do that’ll raise it.. but that it’ll just keep falling.. so.. I do have an idea. But it’s quite a big change," she then looked at Lucas to give him a reassuring glance, knowing he was scared of change. 

"What is it?" Lucas mumbled, barely above a whisper. It was times like this that unnerved him, for how was he supposed to know what to expect next?

"Please, continue," the counselor nodded, willing to hear the idea.

"Well.. ah thought, if it’s agreeable to you, that having Lucas take a few days off school may help. It’ll allow his self confidence ta raise, at least back to where it was, and along with his schoolwork which we can get Luna to collect, he can focus on his training. Since learning the particular style of fighting, is also a form of meditation which helps a person's spiritual being," she smiled a little, “so it should, in theory, help his self confidence grow quite a lot." She then looked back at the counselor when she’d finished talking, a little nervous about what she may say. Lucas did get his shyness from her after all. 

"Then Dad's going to be hyper about teaching me," Lucas mumbled, knowing how excited his dad was about the chance to teach Lucas everything he knew.

"You know, perhaps that's what he needs," the counselor smiled, "Who knows, maybe this was the Golden Dragon's plan all along? After all, life works in mysterious ways and he may just find his place in the world."

"Then tomorrow will be the first day of training," she smiled at him, “In his safe home." She then looked at the counselor. “But, could we get his journal back?”

"Ah, yes!" the counselor opened a drawer, taking out the journal, "I managed to tape the torn out page back in and might I say that is the most amazing depiction of an Earth Dragon I have seen. He is quite talented!"

Lucas carefully took the journal back and held it close. "Thanks," he mumbled. If there was one thing he wasn't a fan of, it was socializing outside of his family. If only Luna had the same lunch as him.

"Well, like mother like son," she playfully smirked at him. 

*****

The ring of a bell echoed through the halls as the school day came to an end, the sound very quickly replaced with the laughing of many children, relieved they could finally relax. The school doors opened by a teacher keeping a watchful eye over the students, an eye that was almost immediately drawn to the gigantic green dragon that was wedged in between a row of cars and confused parents. The teachers here were all used to seeing said dragon, but it still shocked them every time. Metaphorically, that is. Through the course of the school day, you forget to expect it. 

Every time, kids would just stand and stare at it, all except one child. Who instead, beamed at the sight of it. For teachers here had to let the children go once they recognized the parents, for the children’s safety. And what was more recognizable than this? 

"Alright Luna, you can go," the teacher sighed in annoyance. That thing always riled the kids up! When they got riled up, they didn’t listen! He just wished the principal would just say it straight instead of sucking up to Lloyd just because he was a ninja. 

This caused the child to jump up and down excitedly before running over to the dragon, and its rider. “DADDYYYY!!” No matter how many times he picked her up, she always seemed ecstatic to see him! 

"Hey kiddo," her dad smiled at her as the Energy Dragon took this moment to nuzzle the little human, purring to its heart's content, "Get up here." With that, the dragon gave Luna an affectionate lick and purr before picking her up with its tail and setting her on its back. "So, how was school?" her dad asked as the dragon began to lift itself into the air.

“W-wait! We can’t leave without Lucas!” She looked at him in alarm. 

"Oh right, you didn't hear," Lloyd shook his head for second, "Sorry, I was anxious to see you and the faces of all those people when I came in with a dragon. Anyway, Lucas came home early after another bullying issue. I mean, he didn't burn a desk this time, but he was given a two day break off school. Which brings me to the exciting part! Starting tomorrow, you and Lucas are ninja-in-training!" With this the dragon gave a yip, 'YAY!' While Lloyd may not have understood what it said, the young Master of Sound could.

"R-really..? I hope he’s ok..he’s not too upset is he..?”

"He's ok," her father smiled, trying to calm not only her but himself, "He's up in his room coding again. Ace let him have the rest of the day off. His energy powers don't seem to have kicked in yet, surprisingly, but he'll get there. I'm just glad he hasn't hurt anyone yet. It takes practice to control the element of Energy after all. What about you? Are you doing alright?"

She nodded in response. “Yeah, I’m ok! OH AND I GOT AN AWARD TODAY!” She beamed excitedly. “I GOT THE “MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD!! IT'S IN MY BACKPACK!” Her happy voice echoed through the sky as they flew, the young Master of Sound still learning to control her own powers. 

"Nice job!" Lloyd then ruffled her hair affectionately, "You're probably just as talented as your mom if not more so! So did any of your friends get anything?" The dragon below them, unbeknownst to the one who summoned it, gave the child a congratulatory roar.  
"One of them got a ribbon, I think," she smiled. 

*****

After a short flight home, the two walked through the door, lighting up the house with sounds of laughter. Luna loved to talk, especially to her family. And listen. Which meant she was great in social situations. Which was one of the reasons she and her older brother were so great together! When Lucas got overwhelmed as he so often did, Luna would step in and do the talking, and draw the attention away from him! 

After Lloyd shut the door behind him, he felt that something was.. off, and began carefully looking around for a few minutes before shaking his head. Walking into the house more, he called out to his family, "Ace! Lucas! We're home!" As if on cue, the smiling face of his wife greeted Lloyd, and smiled happily at the both of them. 

"HI MOMMY!!” Luna beamed, running in for a hug, almost making Ace stumble. “Hi..” she chuckled through a wheeze, knowing that her daughter was just that excited about life in general? It.. it was a great feeling! Her daughter was genuinely happy, and as a mother, nothing could make Ace happier. 

"Luna, as much as your mother is an amazing woman," Lloyd began with a playful smirk, amused by the scene before him, "I still think she needs to breathe." 

"Oh!” The young girl quickly released the small woman from her grip, chuckling. She did feel a little bad, but was equally amused by the face her mother was making, “Sorry Mommy!” 

Lloyd walked over to Ace, kissing her on the cheek before speaking with concern, "Are you alright, Ace? I know she didn't mean to hurt you."

"Y-yeah," she chuckled, blushing slightly. 

"Well if you’re ok, can I go see Lucas? Or does he need some time alone?” 

This caused the adult to smile at her daughter, “Aaw, you’re so thoughtful! You can go see him! I bet he’s missed ya!” 

"YAY!!” And with that, the excitable young brunette rushed off upstairs like a pink blur. 

Her brother was back at it again, coding books open, computer on, and code across the screen. He may not have truly developed his powers yet, but stuck to the principle of always having a special bracelet made of Benchstone on his arm. For he knew from his dad's stories how he might make electronics explode, and with the odd state of his Golden Power, he didn't want to take any chances. He was currently clacking away at the keyboard without a care in the world, in fact he was so focused in his code he didn't hear his sister walk in.

To not be heard, is something that Luna had never experienced before. She was so loud that people she didn’t WANT to hear her, had. So, she slowly walked closer, trying her best not to make him jump. “L..Lucas..?” 

Startled, Lucas turned around in his swivel chair to see Luna, "Oh, hey Luna. Do you need something? Also how was your day at school? Make any new friends?" Her brother did his best to protect her and make sure she was happy. In a way, he was like his dad when it came to protecting family, but he was much more skittish about it. Yet, no one could say he didn't try to be the best brother he could.

"Uh-huh!! I won an award and then everyone wanted to be friends with me!!...but..” the smile then seemed to fall from her face. “What happened to you..?”

Lucas sighed, "It's fine. I'm alright. No one got hurt or anything, so it's ok. I'll live through it." This again, was another similarity to his father, neither wanted others to worry about them unless they felt that the problem was truly serious. Their definitions of serious may be vastly different but that was to be expected.

She sighed, frowning at her brother. “Ok..if you’re sure..”

****

"So basically,” Ace explained to Lloyd, recapping her meeting with the counselor,as she got to her new point on how to help Lucas further, "We have ta find some way for him to make friends. It’s hard when you’re shy, but, like chickenpox, if ya don’t get it out of the way when you’re young, it can ruin your adult life."

"Well," Lloyd thought for a moment, "he might have luck with people similar to him. You know, bond over a common interest. Kinda like how all the kids at the boarding school I went to were pretty much an army, they all had a shared thing going on. Mind you, that no way implies how I feel about it now, but the point still stands."

In response,his wife nodded, “Like Luna's choir friends. Or Jay's Fallr followers," the husband and wife both exchanged a glance, before chuckling, remembering the days on the bounty when they’d have to spend all day trying to find the perfect hiding place, as not to be seen kissing, or risk that kiss ending up all over the Internet thanks to one very particular, very blue ninja. 

"You know, I think Jay accidentally started a Fallr cult at this point because he still regularly posts and still has a good number of followers," Lloyd then shook his head, "That's besides the point, but yeah, we just need to find others like Lucas. People he can understand. But, who?" 

"Well..speaking of Jay, what about Zack and Lilly? I mean, they should be starting their training soon too!” Her eyes widened with excitement as the idea hit her, just picturing Lucas and Luna making friends with the children of Jay and Nya, their close friends who were also excellent parents! There would be no bullying, and they’d get to see their friends again! Plus, they hadn’t seen Zack and Lilly since they were tiny! To imagine what they’d look like now! It actually made Ace let out a tiny squeal of excitement! 

Lloyd chuckled a bit at the squeal, "You're still adorable. But doesn't everyone have kids that are going to be trained soon? I mean, how is my uncle going to handle all those kids? I mean, he could barely deal with all of us as it was." 

"Well,we could help! Pass on what we know!” She grinned. “Maybe we could train together! Like carpooling, but for ninja!!” It was at that moment that she started bouncing like her daughter would. Lots of people thought that Luna got her energy from Lloyd, but those people didn’t know Ace. When excited about something, she could be very passionate. 

Lloyd chuckled at her excitement, "One of these days, I swear you'll reach my levels of energy with all your excitement. Also, you don't know ninja carpool until you've been in the Raider with all the other ninja, arguing over legroom. But we should at least warn my uncle."

"Ok! I’ll get the phone!” The pink ninja yelled, before dashing off and creating her own pink blur. Off to begin their new lives. Their lives as senseis, and their children's new lives as ninja. 

Little did they know outside, an almost infamously nefarious snake dwelled outside their window, invisible to the naked eye. With a chuckle, he knew what he had to do. He must stop Ninjago from having any more ninja and he knew exactly how to do it.


	2. Episode 2: Green Pastures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Note: In this episode and onward, you may see Japanese followed by a translation. The translation may not be 100% accurate as Google Translate was used, so we apologize in advance if it was butchered. So please, refer to the given translations. As for why there is Japanese in the first place, it is to signify the difference of language between Ninjago (which would likely have a language similar to that of a mix of East Asian languages) and English. Due to the story being in English, naturally we flipped it to where the 'English' is in Japanese. We are sorry for any confusion.*

"Ah, Ace, it has been a while since you last called," a calm voice came from the other end of the phone, "Is something troubling you and my nephew?"

"Hi Sensei!” She smiled. He wasn’t really their martial arts instructor anymore, but he always used his words of wisdom to teach them something. “Nothing's wrong, but we wanted to see if we could arrange a trainin’ session for everyone's kids."

"I see," there was then the stirring of a teapot, "Have you asked my nephew?"

"Yeah, that’s what ah meant by 'we'."

A teaspoon tapped an unseen piece of ceramic, ".. You seem to misunderstand me. I teach no longer. I have put everything into your team and I am afraid to go further is no longer within my destiny. It is as my father once told me, 'Knowledge is a river. When the first bit of something is understood, it wells up like a spring. From there, more and more knowledge is added by others as tributaries until finally, it is deepened like the ocean.' For I have already contributed to the river as much as I could. It is time that the river deepened."

“Wait.. ya want Lloyd ta replace you..?” She’d known they’d have to teach, but also knew that Lloyd would probably try hard to make it an evenly shared responsibility, as he was not too thrilled about the idea of being a sensei, at least to other Elemental Masters that is. 

"It seems that while my lessons took you time to get used to," Wu spoke, "that like a turtle heading for the waves, you found your way in the end." 

“Actually it was a lucky guess," she chuckled, “But I’m not sure. I’m scared he’ll freak out if I ask him."

"Does he not already teach other children to defend themselves?" her former sensei spoke, "For I had taught him all that I could so that he may teach others. It was his choice after all."

The girl sighed and went to put the phone down. “Ok, one sec, I’ll ask him."

Lloyd was waiting for her to return. Standing where he was before she went to take the call, he was now on his phone texting. Most likely texting his other friends he had trained with about having their kids train together. Upon hearing his wife approach, he looked up, "Hey Ace, what'd he say?"

“He said..” she nervously rubbed the back of her head, “He wants you.. ta be their sensei..” 

Lloyd texted something quick, putting his phone away afterwards, "But I never trained Elemental Masters before! I mean, how do I know if I'm doing it right? Like sure, I've taught some martial arts to kids but it's not like I ever had to train ACTUAL ninja! I just…" He sighed, "I don't wanna mess up. I messed up things before, as I'm sure you're aware. Plus, the guys were wanting to hang out while the kids trained and well.. seeing as I don't have an idea what I'm doing, I will probably need their help.."

“So..what shall I tell him..?” She looked at Lloyd, expecting that response. 

Lloyd looked away, staring into the kitchen as if it had suddenly become interesting. It took a moment, but he turned to her and spoke, "What do you think? Do you think that we can do it or that we aren't ready to?" 

“Well..” she too, took a moment to think before speaking, “I didn’t think I was ready ta do lots of things.. like I wasn’t ready to admit that I loved you.. but I knew that if I waited til I was ready, the moment could pass..” she then looked at him, “I think we should."

"Then.. I guess the guys are gonna have to change their schedules, huh?" Lloyd playfully smirked, "Plus, what's life without a challenge?"

“It’s like a video game that’s too easy. Boring," she also smirked, knowing Lloyd loved anything to do with video games. She wasn’t good at them herself, but a relationship is, among other things, compromising. She liked to mention them whenever she could, just so that she could see the excited and also proud smile it would bring to his face. 

And on his face was proud and playful smile, "Yep. Good thing difficulty settings exist. Now go tell Wu we'll all do it, as a team." At this, he made a fist in the air, seemingly already pumped up. Putting down his arm, he gave a more affectionate look to Ace, "And before you go, I love you too." With that, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and got his phone out, back to his normal self, "So while you do that, I'll explain the plan to the others."

Feeling his lips press gently against her cheek, Ace let her pale, shortbread coloured skin flush red. At least on her face. Not like she had a choice. But there was a time when she might have tried to hide it. But now, she felt there was nothing she ever had to hide from Lloyd. 

Smiling, she picked the phone back up. “Ok, we’ll do it, but Lloyd said he’s only in if we do it as a team!” She smiled, looking back over at Lloyd. 

"Well, as they say, 'Brothers in arms are brothers for life.' But, if you require any guidance, I shall be here," the old man spoke, "Perhaps I may visit when the tea is slow to sell."

“Well it’d be nice ta see you again!” she smiled on her side of the phone. 

"Indeed," the wise man may not have been seen, but the nod could be felt, "I wish you well in your endeavors. May the Golden Dragon shine upon you all." With that, he hung up.

Putting the phone down,the girl turned towards Lloyd and smiled happily, “So, what’s for dinner?” Lloyd did most of the cooking, as ace had never learned how. He had taught her a few things, but they were working their way up to big meals. Ace still remembered how proud she was when she made her own English muffins, and even more so how proud Lloyd was of her. It made her feel warm inside to know that she could go at her own pace, and not only would he not rush her, but would stand by her side with an encouraging smile. 

"Well," Lloyd looked to her, "Ninjagoese or British? Plus, we have to think about what the kids will eat. As let's just say, I personally know how picky kids can be sometimes." Lloyd was largely known for hating vegetables when he was physically younger, that is before his age became perhaps one of Ninjago's greatest mysteries, yet he has eaten them without much retaliation since he had grown both mentally and physically.

“Well, what are our options?” She tilted her head in thought. Not realising how adorable Lloyd found this. 

Lloyd crossed his arms, looking to the floor in thought, being silent for a few moments before speaking, "Off the top of my head I know we can do noodles, rice with chicken and other toppings, sushi, and whatever British things you know we can make." He looked to her, "I mean, you can ask the kids too if they have any ideas."

“Well..noodles sound nice!” She smiled, being a picky eater herself, it was a good sign when she liked something. As that’d often be one of the only things she’d eat. “But.. since Lucas had a rough day, why don’t we let him choose?” 

"Alright, you wanna ask him what kind of noodles while I fix you some?" Lloyd always made sure to accommodate Ace, as while most of the family will eat meat, she was understandably a vegetarian, as of course with her powers she was used to hearing the words of animals that to others would just be noise. "If so, tell me what you want on yours," Lloyd added, so if she did get Lucas he could get started.

“Just plain is fine," she smiled, already excited about eating them. Thanks to Zane, Lloyd's cooking was top-notch! Plus making food for his son, daughter, and wife, he’d had lots of practice! 

As the small woman made her way up the stairs, she looked around the hall, smiling to herself as she passed all of the drawings Luna had done that they’d pinned up. Sometimes Luna would draw potential video game characters that she and Lucas had made up together! So even though Lucas hadn’t drawn anything, an expression of both their talents sat proudly on the wall. 

“Lucas?” She called out gently as she knocked on the door before opening it. 

Lucas was staring at a bunch of code on the monitor, elbow on the desk as he looked between what was there and the open coding book under a desk lamp in the corner. He often did this to get away from the world. "Yeah?" he responded after a few seconds.

“What d’ya want for dinner?” she asked him softly, walking in to give her beloved son a quick hug. For his sake or for hers? Well.. admittedly a little of both. It killed her to think about her son upset, and she wouldn’t feel better until she knew for certain that he did. 

So slowly, and gently, she gave him a warm, caring hug. 

Having been given an unexpected hug, he seemed almost uncomfortably squished for a second before relaxing with a heavy sigh escaping him, hinting at the turmoil in his mind, "Onaka ga suita no ka wakaranai.. (I'm not sure if I'm hungry..)" This was one of those times he'd slip into English, as being bilingual he'd often find himself slipping into English or Ninjagoese at a whim. Usually he spoke English when he was frustrated, with the benefit of no one but his parents knowing when he was giving an insult. Today, it seemed whatever was going on in his head was driving him into speaking the first language that came to mind.

“...Ah ya sure..? Not even a little..?” as always when one of her children was upset, she spoke with a soft and gentle voice, “Not even ta see ya family…?” 

Turning to face his mother and going back into Ninjagoese, having realized he had changed languages earlier, "I guess. I just.. didn't have a great day and I'm worried that I made Luna think something was wrong. I mean, I deal with bullies all the time, I'm fine, right? After all, no one has gotten hurt and it's been this long.."

“Well..I think she was just worried because your dad told her you got to come home early. She probably just worried that something more serious had happened. Ya know how much she cares about ya," her lips seemed to curl into a small smile of encouragement. 

"Yeah, I know," Lucas sighed, "I guess in a way I don't want to seem weak to her and let her down. Plus, it's not even like the one serious thing that happened was on purpose! In fact, I don't even know why my Golden Power kicked up when I was in art class, after all, I seemingly blacked out and set my own desk on fire before coming to. Whether the teacher believed me was another story." Lucas had mumbled the last part as he remembered that story, he was in 3rd grade when that happened and no one really understood why yet, just that it may have something to do with the fact that Elemental Masters have a tie with their powers through their mind.

“Well.. the element of fire has a pattern. Like all elements do. Which is that certain traits tie into them from the person who has the power. With fire, it’s passion. Were you passionate about what you were drawing or painting?”

"I don't know, I blacked out," Lucas sighed, "But Dad never blacked out from using his Golden Power so why do I? Plus, my own powers barely even work right.."

“Well..maybe ya great uncle Wu might know? He’s very wise. Plus when it comes to elemental powers,he knows everything there is ta know! We could visit his tea shop on a quiet day," just like his mother, Lucas was easily overwhelmed by crowds. 

Lucas gave a small nod, "Alright, but first, what's for dinner?" He looked to his mother, his mood a bit better, seeing as he was willing to eat, "Besides, I'm getting tired of staring at this code. I'm having a problem with connecting to the physics engine and haven't figured out why yet."

“Well, we’re thinking noodles, that sound good?” she smiled at him, not knowing a thing about coding. 

"Yeah," he smiled and nodded a bit, then gave a concerned look, "Are you going to be alright if I have it with chicken? I mean, I know you're my mom and all, but I don't want to make you upset."

“Yeah," she chuckled slightly, despite feeling a little nauseous, she was delighted that her child was so considerate. When others around her ate meat, as they so often did, she’d simply avoid looking and think about something else. As long as they didn’t make a mess of it, she’d be fine. Though she still remembered that one time that Jay put a chicken on his hand and made it dance around. She spent a while in the bathroom with Lloyd holding her hair back, having instantly thrown up at the sight of it. 

"Thanks," Lucas smiled a bit and got out of his desk chair to go draw instead. While doing so, he placed the bracelet of Benchstone in a desk drawer for later. "If you don't mind, I'm going to draw a bit," he looked to his mom, "unless you need help with dinner?"

“Well it’s not me that’s cookin’. But you’ve had a rough day, you stay and draw," after a gentle ruffle of his hair, she headed back downstairs. 

"So what did he say?" Lloyd asked from the kitchen, currently trying noodles while preparing the soup to put said noodles in, "Also, do you know what Luna wants?" At this point, he has had so much training, he practically knows when anyone enters or leaves the room and who it is, all without looking up.

“He said he wants noodles with chicken. I haven’t asked Luna but she’d probably want the same." Luna believed just as her mother did, that all animals had a right to live, but as a child, she was difficult with her food. She figured she’d probably become a vegetarian when she was older and a little more mature. But right now, as long as she didn’t think about it too much, she loved chicken!

"Alright, wanna watch the noodles while I deal with the chicken?" Lloyd asked. He often did this as a way of teaching Ace to cook, taking things one step at a time. However, when it came to meat, he always dealt with it himself for his wife's sake. Plus, he did like showing off how well he could use a blade, another thing he could thank his training for.

At this point, she seemed to go a little pale. “U-uum..” she was very uncomfortable around a stove, anything in a pan for that matter. She was so sure she’d slip up or burn herself..

"Don't worry, I just need to make sure they aren't burning," Lloyd replied, sensing her hesitation, "Plus, I'll be nearby if anything happens."

“H-how will I know if they’re burning..? W-will they go a certain color..?” What a stupid question she’d just asked..

"Yeah actually," Lloyd answered, "They'll turn dark and hard instead of off-white and wiggly. Think you can do that?" By this point, Lloyd had already got the chicken out of the fridge and began to season it.

“Uuuh..o-ok..” Yeah.. if they started to burn, she could just tell him! He’d sort it no problem! She then internally thanked the Golden Dragon that he was so understanding.No matter how stupid the question, he’d never scoff, or laugh. Just smile, and answer.

*****

"Guys! Wash your hands, dinner is ready!" Lloyd called out. He was proud of the progress Ace made with learning how to cook. Truth be told, he was glad he got to teach her what he knows, to him it was a way of bonding.

As for the kids, Lucas took his time to get ready to eat, he was never really in a rush for anything, unlike his dad who pretty much lives for an adrenaline rush. He was also the quieter one, so it would make sense that he would take his time after all.

However, Luna seemed to practically fly down the stairs, more than ready to eat. 

"Alright, so I got some exciting news for everyone!" Lloyd spoke up as everyone began to eat, "So you know how I told you two that you were training tomorrow?" With this question came a set of chopsticks pointing at the children at the table, some noodles in their grasp as the noodles made their way out of the bowl.

"Yeah?" Lucas tilted his head a bit as he looked at his father between his helpings of noodles that his own chopsticks held.

"Well, looks like tomorrow morning you're meeting the rest of your team for your first training session!" Lloyd excitedly announced, he hasn't seen his whole ninja family in a while and couldn't wait to see how they were doing! They were always close to one another back when they themselves were in training, despite the sarcastic comments and fart jokes. 

“Yeah! You get ta learn spinjitzu and make some new friends!"

This caused Luna to gasp in excitement. “Really?? Yay!! What are they like??”

However on the other end of the spectrum, was Lucas with pure panic on his face. He never really had good encounters with others his age and got well… a bit protective of his stuff. Clearly, alarms were ringing in his head.

“They’re very nice," she calmly told them, to make the poor child feel better. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure what the children were like. But the parents were practically family. “Brothers in arms” as Wu had called them. 

"Besides, we know their parents well," Lloyd added, knowing how Lucas could be at times, "So if anything does manage to happen, it'll be sorted out. As for where you're all meeting, we haven't decided yet, so do you two have any input on that?"

The children both shook their heads, Lucas being an introvert and preferring to stay home, not knowing the city well, and Luna just unable to think of anything. 

"How about you, Ace?" Lloyd asked his wife, wondering if she had any bright ideas they hadn’t thought of. For Lloyd knows that Ace has seen the kinds of ideas they have unsupervised, sometimes great ideas, but usually crazy ideas. At times, it's almost surprising that they didn't get seriously injured.

“Well..what about the old monastery? We could clear the rubble and pieces of the building that ah still standing out of the way, and use that space? Plus if it starts raining we can put up a big tent," she shrugged, stuffing her mouth full of noodles. 

"And there might still be some salvageable components in Jay's hidden training course invention the others told me about," Lloyd added, "So he may be able to rebuild it if he has the right parts."

"Excuse me for interrupting," the oldest child spoke up, "but didn't you tell Luna and I that your other teammates said they barely had enough room for them? So how do we expect to have over double the amount of people? It's not like mountains grow in a day." 

“Interesting point..” Ace muttered, going silent as she thought some more. 

After a second, an idea flashed in Lloyd's mind, "That's it. We grow a mountain!"

By the look on Lucas' face, he didn't quite follow. In fact, no one else probably did. This usually meant this was one of the ideas that fell into the "crazy" category.

"I was once told that I could move mountains right?" Lloyd looked to the table, having forgotten about his bowl of noodles for the moment, "So, therefore, if Lucas has Golden Powers, he can do the same thing! All we got to do is figure out how to set off that particular aspect of his powers."

Feeling his father's eyes on him, Lucas mumbled as he put his hood up, "Nande watashi?... (Why me?...)"

“Yeah, can’t you still do that?” Luna looked at her father, kind of unclear on the situation. 

"About that," Lloyd looked to her a bit nervous, "no. I gave up my Golden Power so the other could use theirs naturally. So, it'd have to be Lucas at this point. Sorry." While Lloyd didn't regret his decision to help his friends, there were times that it didn't help a situation, such as this one.

“Well.. is there any other solution that would put less pressure on Lucas..?” Ace looked at Lloyd, concerned for her son, knowing that in this fragile state, he’d probably crumble under pressure. 

"Well," Lloyd thought for a minute, "that would entirely depend on if it's in Cole's range of abilities. If not, we'd have to make two separate trips to the Temple of Light, which may take a few days at least. By that point, they might not get a chance to train until later."

“Why don’t we just hire a community center?” Luna tilted her head, not understanding why they were complicating things. 

"Wait, hold up, that's a thing?" once again, Lloyd's lack of experience with the world strikes again. Funny how he can make the impossible look easy, but has no clue how most of society works, that is at least to the people who know about the fact he didn't really have time to understand society. He then turned to Ace, practically clueless but trying to not look like an absolute fool, "If that is in fact a thing, why didn't you tell me earlier?.." 

“I wanted to see what other creative things you’d think of," his beloved wife told him with a smirk. 

Lloyd then got quiet, speaking in meet mumbles, suddenly remembering his noodles, "Thanks, but now I look dumb.."

Lucas gave a sigh, partially from relief as he put his hood down, "Kono kazoku dake de.. (Only in this family..)"

“I don’t think ya look dumb," she told him in reply, “I think ya look cute."

At this, Lloyd had begun to blush a bit but decided not to mention it, "Uh, thanks. Most people would just use the word 'childish' though."

“Well, I’m not most people."

With this, Lloyd smiled a bit at her, starting to feel better before seemingly wiping away whatever emotions were in his head, "Ok, but what about weapons training? I'm pretty sure they don't want a bunch of kids with swords."

“Wooden swords?” she shrugged. 

"Maybe you can use it while you try to find something better?" Lucas then suggested, then a bit nervous at the fact he'd have to be at whatever place they choose.

"Great idea, Lucas!" Lloyd practically beamed, "I'll just have to work things out with the guys after dinner. Speaking of which, we better not let it get cold." With that, he began to eat faster, occasionally glancing out the window, feeling seemingly watched but with no evidence.

*****

In the morning, Lucas found himself woken up by a knock on his door.

"Lucas, get up, training starts soon!" the voice of his father rang out. Of course his father would be waking up him early, his dad already wakes up before dawn anyway. It was likely he was heading to Luna next, judging by the footsteps.

"Luna, time to get up for training!" there was the knock and call that Lucas waited for.

With a sigh, he got up and began to change and get ready for the day.

Groaning, his sister followed, yawning as her hair stuck out all over the place. 

"Sleep well?" her brother asked in the hallway, while he may not have wanted to wake up this early, having Energy powers kind of makes it difficult for him to be truly tired. "To be honest, I was having a nightmare," he mumbled afterwards.

This seemed to wake his sister up, as she ran over to him, practically grabbing him by the shoulders. “What happened?!”

"Anxiety but worse," Lucas sighed, "You know, everyone gathering around you as they say mean things to you as well as pressuring you. Just the typical nightmare of anxiety." Lucas then shrugged, "But it's fine. I can handle it. Let's just get this all over with."

“You don’t sound fine..” she muttered, highly concerned, “Just cuz something doesn't physically hurt, doesn't mean it’s fine."

".. I'll be fine," he looked away for a second then back at her, "Plus, Dad's expecting us to be ready, so unless we want to disappoint him, we better hurry."

Luna let a frown befall her usually cheery expression. “He’ll understand," she sounded almost angry, “Now, unless you wanna worry your family, maybe you should let us help." It was rare that Luna would speak so sternly, and she’d NEVER do so to Lucas, but this was not the first time he’d said something worrying, then said he’d be fine. 

Luna's powers allowed her to hear things all over the house, even if she didn’t want to. Which made sleeping at night time very tricky. Her room was right above the kitchen, which is where her parents used to talk about things at night. 

And it was becoming increasingly clear that they were very worried about Lucas. Especially their mother. She remembered it very clearly. She remembered hearing the words:  
“What ah we gunna do?! My baby is hurtin’ and I can’t help him!!” She remembered very clearly thinking that her mother was crying. And if he continued to say everything was fine, nothing was going to get better. They couldn’t fix a problem they didn’t know about. 

“Please, Lucas," she started again, this time a lot softer, “We just wanna help."

As their mother had mentioned, all elements had a pattern. Energy included. Yet what made Energy different also made it more dangerous and hard to handle. For Energy's pattern was stubborn determination, so much so that it could end up being their downfall in the end. Lucas, while an atypical Master of Energy, was still one all the same.

"Luna, I'm your older brother," Lucas began before sighed, "I'm supposed to protect you, yet you keep protecting me. Besides, my problems aren't ones that anyone else can solve. I just.. haven't found a way to solve them yet, ok? Just, have faith, alright? They say the Golden Dragon helps the hopeful after all."

“B-but..we’re creative thinkers! Maybe if you told us, we could think of a way to help in some way! And if not..at least do something to help you feel better..like getting your favourite ice cream or something." 

As a happy-go-lucky child, Luna didn’t really understand that not every issue is black and white. But even though she might not understand sometimes, when she knew her family were upset, she’d often stay up all night trying to think of nice things she could do to cheer them up a little. 

"Luna," Lucas looked to her caringly, "I really appreciate it, but I have to work this out on my own. I get it might not seem right to you, but some issues can only be dealt with by the person who has them. So, if you really want to help, you'll give me the time and space I need to solve my problems, ok? But don't worry, I'll still be there for you, I just have to sort out my problems on my own time."

The usually lively child fell silent. Had she made him mad..? Her brother didn’t want her near her! Believing this,was it any wonder she started to snivel? 

"Luna, please don't cry," Lucas tried to calm her, "I didn't mean anything harsh by it.." He may not have known why exactly his sister was sad, but he was in no way trying to upset her, "I just want you to know that I'll figure things out while I help you, ok?" 

“B-but I wanna help you! ..A-a-and that made you mad! Y-you d-don’t want me around..”

"Luna, I'm not mad," Lucas shook his head, "I never said I didn't want you around either. What I meant is that I have to figure this out on my own. That doesn't change how I feel about you. Now come on, let's head down, alright?"

“B-but..I-I wanna make you feel ok again..” the child let out a rather loud sniff as she started to calm down. 

"Then, maybe we can do something together later, ok?" Lucas compromised, knowing she likes spending time with him, no matter how little he thought of himself.

“O-ok..b-but only if you want to..” she had to be helping him! Not the other way around. Just so happened, their company made each other happy. Most of the time. Luna just had to make sure that this was one of those times! Yeah! She’d grab his favourite snacks, and his favourite movie! He was going to feel better in no time if she had anything to say about it!

"Of course," he smiled and bit, giving her a gentle hug, but something seemed off. It was like after a while he wasn't really there. She had seen this before.. he had a black out. What power this is, well, who knows if she wants to find out?

“L-Lucas?!” she stuttered with a panic filled voice as she felt him get heavier. Putting all of her strength into picking him up off her and putting him on the floor, she scrambled to get a good look at his face. 

Irresponsive. Oddly enough, every time this happened, it was like he wasn't there. Yet, as told by him grabbing her arm with a growl, something was in control. She knew Lucas never meant to harm anyone like this, but she was tossed back into the wall as he stood up, his eyes seemingly lacking emotion.

This caused the child to let out a shriek of pain, bursting into terrified tears. “M-M-MOMMY, DADDY!!!!” seemingly tapping into her own still-developing powers, she screamed for her parents at the top of her lungs. 

Upon hearing her with no problem at all, the two adults both seemed to freeze for a moment, before rushing for the stairs. 

Lucas seemingly turned towards them, a grunt escaping him as rocks broke through the stairs. Seems like it was Earth this time.. but why?

"Well, I know this is a bad time but," Lloyd turned to Ace, "I called it. Now with that out of the way, how do we snap him out of this? I mean, we don't even know what caused this one!" 

“So what’s new?” she yelled whilst dodging rocks. She was right. They didn’t know what had caused the other one either. “But right now we just have to get him back to normal!”

Lloyd tried to think of anything then called out to Luna, "What happened before he got this way?!"

“I-I-I-I tried to cheer him up!!” She cried in fear.

Lucas turned to her, with a motion of his arm, rock spikes appearing to make a wall around her.

Lloyd was thinking quickly, then muttered, "This might be crazy, but it better work…" He called out to Luna afterwards, "Remind him of his fears! You have to remind him of what he's dealing with! I know it sounds harsh, but trust me, if this works, I'll explain why!"

However, the small child was too busy crying out of fear to talk. 

"Ok, new plan," Lloyd looked to Ace, "Wanna try?"

“Absolutely,” She then turned to her son. “Lucas!" as hard as it was to remind her son of everything she’d tried to help him forget.. she had to. For him. “LUCAS! R-REMEMBER...REMEMBER YOUR FEAR OF FAILURE!! REMEMBER THE BULLIES!” She couldn’t believe she’d just yelled that.. but she’d cuddle him as much as he needed afterwards.. to make them both feel better...

The child started to breathe more, looking around. After seemingly being shocked by his own powers, he fell, the rocks going back into the ground. It was almost like it didn't happen, that is, except Lucas holding his head and groaning as he got up. "Nani ga okotta?.. (What happened?..)" he mumbled as he looked around, "Luna?.. How'd you get there?.."

His younger sister was however too terrified to respond, instead choosing to back away from him. 

"Luna," he slowly got up, walking over to her slowly, "It's ok, I'm right here.."

As the small boy got closer, his sister would continue to back away in fear. 

Lucas was practically stunned, no.. he wasn't just stunned. He was crying, he was a monster. He didn't deserve such a family, at least that's what his mind screamed. So, he looked to his parents-

"It's ok, Lucas," Lloyd said to him, "Things will-"

And he ran. Hood up, he ran to his room, slamming and locking the door. He was a monster, he needed to leave. He couldn't let Luna get hurt again. He grabbed a backpack, packing what he needed to survive, along with his laptop and a few things to help him code and write down things. Then, out the window he left, leaving the mess he made behind. All he knew to do was run. Run until he could no longer. He didn't care if his parents found him, he already failed.

*****

The streets of the city weren’t that busy,given the time of day it was. All the shops were just beginning to open, so all potential people who may have seen him were way too busy to help her. But that didn’t stop ace from asking everyone she saw if they’d seen him, using a family picture she used as her phone's lock screen wallpaper. People couldn’t spare a moment to help a mother find her missing child.. if Ace wasn’t so busy panicking, she’d be disgusted.

After the 20th rejection in a row, already fighting off the tears, the panicking woman slowly stumbled to a halt, and began to let her tears loose. Her baby was out there in the cold, cruel world somewhere, full of people who wanted his powers.. he ran off.. her horrid parenting made her precious baby run off.. as her emotional state spiraled ever further, the distraught mother fell to her knees. Her breathing and body shaking as much as her self-confidence as a parent. She was a horrible mother..

"Excuse me, Ace, but you seem distressed," an oddly familiar voice asked her, "I unfortunately couldn't fly to Lloyd's location so Robert and I happened to be walking by. Do you perhaps require my assistance?"

The distraught woman looked up in shock. She hadn’t heard that voice in so long! Wiping the tears from her eyes to prevent them further obstructing her vision, she opened her mouth to speak, but what little did come out, came out a peep. 

“Z…..Z-Zane..?”

*****

It could have been an hour, maybe two before he slowed down. Before he sat down to reflect on where he was… wherever he was. He took out a notebook to begin writing something when he heard a snap and a whine. He never heard such a sound before. Putting the notebook to the side, he crept cautiously to the source of the sound.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

A baby dragon caught its wing in a trap. It was calling for help, it would seem. But would it let a monster like him approach? 'I can't just leave it here,' he reasoned, slowly approaching.

The emerald colored hatchling whipped its head towards him, growling as it sniffed the air. Then, as if it wasn't in a hunting trap at all, it sat calmly, tilting its head.

"It-it's ok," the barely could barely speak as he crept near, "I'm going to help you.." Without any further protest from the dragon, Lucas managed to free its wing.

To his surprise, the dragon yipped and jumped around him, even rolling on the ground to play. However, it seemed it couldn't fly, at least with its wing torn. Lucas felt bad for it, the dragon didn't do anything wrong so why did it have to get hurt?! He should've been the one who got hurt!

Yet, as if sensing, his pain, the dragon nuzzled his leg and whimpered. "It's ok," Lucas mumbled, petting its head, "I'm-I'm ok. But I've never seen a dragon like you before. At least not a summoned one." 

And that was true, for this dragon was of an emerald color and had a golden mane. In fact, it almost reminded him of his father's dragon, but they still looked very different. Especially the bright green eyes this dragon had.

"What kind of dragon are you anyway?.." Lucas mumbled to himself, that is before something familiar sounding seemed to break his focus.. he knew that voice..

“LUCAS!!”

It was his mom! But.. in a state he’d never seen her.. tears streaming down her face, eyes red from the tears, and a look of somehow mixed emotions of relief and panic. Pale and almost.. ill looking..

The woman squeezed him tightly, hugging him like she never wanted to let go. She was also.. shaking..

Lucas squirmed a bit but managed to hug her back. He was so glad she didn't think he was a monster. Oddly enough, the dragon didn't think so either..

"I am happy to have been able to assist you," another voice rang out from behind his mom to reveal… an android? Lucas had never met one before. Not to mention two, as a smaller one came up from behind.

The dragon then gave a confused sound, going around to sniff everyone.

"Mom," the young boy spoke up, "Who are they? Also… do you mind if I show you an animal that might just need your care?"

“In a minute," she told him sternly, “I can’t believe you ran away from home!” He’d never seen her this angry..

“Do you have any idea what you put me through?! I was so worried! If Zane hadn’t shown up, I might not have found ya! You could’ve gotten hurt!” 

"B-but I was afraid I'd hurt you more," Lucas mumbled, "I already scared Luna.. I-I'm a monster… I don't deserve these p-powers.."

The dragon whined, 'I think you do.' It then began to nuzzle Lucas' leg.

“And you thought running off and possibly getting yourself killed was the way to avoid hurting us?" she sighed, “You can’t run from your problems. It might not be a problem with an obvious answer, but we’ll work through it together."

Lucas gave a nod, then mumbled, "O-ok, I just.. I just didn't want to seem like a monster to-to Luna.. I wanted to protect her, B-but she always ends up being the one who protects me b-because I can't do anything right or I black out!"

The dragon, on the other hand, didn't like how it was being ignored. Jumping up onto the child's back and climbing onto his shoulder, the dragon started nuzzling the boy.

“Lucas, it’s not like that. Not everything is black and white. Luna may seem like the protector here, but it’s because she loves you so much, her ridiculous amount of energy causes her to jump in and act before you can," she chuckled. 

Lucas nodded and began to pet the dragon on his shoulder, a purr coming from it, "Also, two things. I'm guessing that bigger android is Zane, but who's the smaller one? Second, this dragon, whatever kind it is, was in a trap and has a torn wing, it might need help, seeing as the wing looks a bit bloody."

“Well,” she began, gently taking the dragon and placing it in her lap as she sat down. “That’s his son, Robert. He and his wife, P.I.X.A.L, built him." She then started to gently dab at the dragon's wing with a tissue she’d found in her pocket. 

"I apologize for his lack of conversation, he is still acquiring social data," Zane explained, "As for my lack of travel options, I had already transferred my Ice powers to Robert. Therefore I was unable to summon a dragon."

As for the dragon, it had begun to move around on Ace's lap, attempting to nip the tissue. 'Play?' it kept yipping.

This caused the woman to chuckle and start to drag the tissue around for it to chase. “Feelin’ better already?”

The dragon then gave a little shake on all fours before trying to jump up and flap its wings, yet something was wrong. It wouldn't stay up. Thus, it began whimpering again, 'Wing…' Licking its wing, it continued to whimper, 'No fly?..'

Ace sighed, gently petting its head. “Yeah.. no fly.. but only for a little while.. I’ll get you to a vet who will fix your wing. Until then, you can stay with us," she smiled sympathetically at the small hatchling, scratching it under the chin. 

It gave a small purr, licking her face in appreciation.

"If you do not mind me interrupting," Zane began, "Perhaps we should head to the others so the children may begin to train?"

“You read my mind," she smiled, gently putting the dragon back on Lucas’ shoulder, “I think he’d be more comfortable with you."

"It's a boy?" Lucas looked at the dragon who began to purr and nuzzle his head.

“Yup! You can tell by the shape of his face!”

"As well as his bright coloration!" the smaller Nindroid added, finally speaking up, "It's so when he gets older he can attract females!"

"Huh," Lucas looked at the dragon, petting his head, "Well, if we take it to the vet, it need a name right?.. So, what kind of dragon is it, Mom?"

“Well,” his mother smirked, having learned everything she could about dragons since she first saw them, “It’s actually an energy dragon. Fancy that!” 

"Wait, really?!" Lucas' eyes lit up, "But not even Dad has seen a living breathing one! Some people even think they're extinct!"

“Well those people ah clearly wrong!” she smiled proudly, “Zane, care ta confirm?”

"Certainly!" Zane smiled, "By cross-referencing ancient scrolls with the Ninjagoese Dragon Encyclopedia, it would indeed seem to be an Energy Dragon hatchling about a month old."

“So, Lucas, wanna go show him off?” She smirked at her son. 

He smiled a bit and nodded, "But, I think I have a name for him now." He then turned to the dragon, "How about 'Watt'? It's a unit to measure energy."

The dragon yipped happily, 'I like it!'

"Then, we shall be on our way," Zane smiled.

“Alright then, wanna lead the way?” She asked the larger Nindroid.


	3. Episode 3: Trained and Get Trained

As they walked up to the community center, a Fire Dragon could be seen in the parking lot, seemingly close to fading away. Besides, it was an old friend, or rival depending on his mood, of Ace's. The Hotshot, or if he's being annoying, Hothead, himself, Kai. As well as two kids arguing near him as he scrolled through his phone. Oddly enough, he was wearing sunglasses despite the cloudy day, then again, knowing him, it could just be to look cool.

"I'm telling you, I couldn't totally defeat anyone who challenges me!" the taller of the children boasted.

"Wow Spike," the slightly smaller kid smirked, "Your ego is almost as big as our Dad's."

Kai sighed, "Amber, I'm way too tired for this. Your mom is at work and I only had time to train during the night when she came home, so I REALLY would appreciate it if you and Spike behaved."

The redhead snorted, "As if Spike could EVER do something right."

"Like you do any better," the brown haired child huffed back.

Kai just sighed, mumbling to himself, "Why must the Golden Dragon curse me so?.."

Knowing that the arguing would make Lucas nervous, Ace hastily lead her son inside. 

"Ace?" Zane spoke up, "May you watch Robert? I must inform Kai that he requires an adequate amount of rest, as he appears to be in an unstable condition. Additionally, I'd highly recommend not having him pass out in the parking lot."

She nodded and smiled. “Come on Robert!”

As they walked in, it seemed they were the last to arrive (not counting Kai and his kids) as the room was full of children chatting and laughing. And one kid who was running around and.. zapping people?

The said kid seemed to be a brown-haired boy in a blue jacket. This one seemed to have Lucas' attention, most likely in fear. As the boy saw them come in, he ran over to Robert first, "Whoa, a tiny Nindroid, cool! I'm Zack! ZAP!" With that he shocked Robert, who promptly rebooted after the unexpected shock.

"AWWW!! THEY'RE PLAYING!" came the excited voice of Lloyd's best friend, and perhaps Ace's best wingman of the group when it came to getting together with Lloyd, Jay. As always, he had his phone's camera out, taking a picture of what was going on around him. 

"Speaking of Nindroids," Cole, the most supportive one of the original ninja team arguably, spoke up as he walked over, just finishing off a bag of chocolate muffins, "Where's Zane? I see Robert's here so he has to be nearby right?"

“He’s sortin’ Kai out," she chuckled, gesturing to the door, as to say he was just outside, along with Kai. 

"What did he do this time?" Nya sighed, as she knew very well how much of a hassle her brother was sometimes. At times, it was almost as if being difficult was a talent for Kai. Not that she knew what happened wasn't entirely Kai's fault.

“Nothing, Zane is just advisin’ him on his lack of sleep."

"Stuck with the kids again?" Cole guessed, "You know how much Skylor works and how little time that leaves him to himself. You know, there are days I'm surprised by how functional he is."

She simply nodded in response, “Yup, that about sums it up."

"Well, wanna help me set up somewhere for him to nap?" Nya smiled, "I rather give him a break from them. He's probably been through enough already." 

Before the girl could reply, the ever helpful Luna decided to pipe up, “I’LL HELP!”

Nya laughed a bit in response, "Well, come on. I assume your dad is busy doing something anyway. Seeing as he has us out here. There might be a lounge or something around we could use."

“Ok!” She beamed, following Nya, excited to help. 

Lucas stayed quiet, usually when his dad was up to something, it was implied to be crazy. He just hoped he'd survive.. whatever it was. Well, maybe 'survive' was a bit harsh, but it sure felt like survival.

Luckily his thoughts were broken by Zane carrying Kai on his shoulder, Kai being half-asleep. Kai's kids, Spike and Amber having followed, arguing over whether a three-armed skeleton or a snake in armor would win in a fight. 

"The snake would totally win!" the older of the two pitched, "It's a lot smarter than a skeleton!"

"Yeah, but skeletons can put themselves together again!" Amber retorted.

Lucas, holding his mother a bit tighter, he looked across at the other kids.

His mother gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, knowing he didn’t fare well with crowds. Especially crowds so peculiar. His school days had never prepared him for a boy trying to zap everyone, and a girl punching the ground. 

“Jewel, stop,” Cole chuckled, “You’re gonna hurt yourself!”

“But I wanna do a ground pound!" the girl pouted. 

"I'm sure you'll get it in time, Jewel," another girl spoke up, who seemed to be wearing a lot of light blue, her hair was even died that color!

"Thanks Lilly," the child with the long dark brown hair and blond highlights smiled.

"Please," Spike huffed, "I can already set things on fire. So clearly I'm the best one HERE."

"Woooow," Amber rolled her eyes, "Look at you, the fancy pants who can barely use one element. Get real, I can mimic any power that's present here!"

“Power hoarder!” Spike retorted. 

"Tryhard!" Amber rebutted.

That's when a cloud of smoke filled the room. "Smokebomb!" and of course, Lloyd finally shows up out of nowhere in the most dramatic entrance possible, "And that's how to make an entrance! Just, you know, don't say 'smokebomb' in an actual mission."

Lucas just sighed, having dealt with this before and headed to where Luna went to make sure she was alright. He didn't want the other kids to be too much for her after all! However, Luna was thriving! She loved making new friends! 'Of course she's fine,' Lucas thought, 'She's a lot more like Dad then me… I still don't know why the Golden Dragon didn't choose her to be the next Green Ninja, she's everything I'm not.."

"Alright, seeing as everyone is here, we can start going over a few things before we head into a different room," Lloyd began, interrupting Lucas' thoughts, "First, let's start by getting to know each other, after all, if you kids are going to be ninja, then you need to be a team. Because that team will be your family, you'll fight together, laugh together, cry together, and most of all, you'll have each other's backs. So, to get things moving, one by one you'll say your name, something about yourself and what you hope to achieve as a ninja."

It was at this point Lucas realized something. Watt wasn't on his shoulder, he could be anywhere! The thought of Watt being scared somewhere made Lucas run off to look for him. "Watt?!" he called, "Where did you go?!"

“I’LL START, I’LL START!!” Luna yelled excitedly, running back in with Nya, “I’m Luna, I like making friends and as a ninja I wanna help as many people as possible!”

"Well, I'm Lilly," the girl wearing suspenders spoke up, "I like reading books and wanna see places no one has ever been!"

"I'm Zack, ZAP!" the excited child exclaimed, "I like zapping and wanna do it better! ZAP!"

"Hi, I'm Jewel-" the girl spoke up before a noise was heard. Just like everyone else, Jewel had turned to the noise. Oddly enough, it seemed to be in the general direction where Kai was resting.

"Everyone stay calm," Lloyd told the kids, "For all we know it was a bird hitting a window. Ace, can you go check it out? You probably know best where it came from."

The short adult nodded and walked towards the source of the noise to investigate. Yet, before she could enter the room Kai was in, the door was locked. From the inside. Kai might have done it, however. She'd have to ask but he was terribly tired and needed sleep. 

So instead, she simply turned around. “It’s locked..”

"Well I don't remember locking it," Nya sighed, "But knowing Kai, he may have gotten up and done it to be uninterrupted by the kids."

“Could someone call ‘im just ta check?” she replied, just to be sure.

"Sure," Lloyd pulled out his phone to call Kai, yet after a few minutes, sighed, "No answer. Unless you count his voicemail. Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't change it."

"He may have had his phone on silent," Zane pointed out, "It may be best to try and wake him up, at least momentarily."

"Uh, guys?" Jay spoke up, "Where's Cole? I mean he probably went to get more to eat but, heh heh, it's been a while since he was heard."

“Maybe he went to the bathroom?” Jewel looked at them in slight worry that her father had just disappeared.

"Maybe," Lloyd mumbled, before taking a headcount of the kids, now having a face of panic, "Ace, where's Lucas?.."

This caused the brunette to let her eyes widen before obtaining the same panic-stricken expression as Lloyd, “A-ah dunno!”

"Jay, stay here and watch the kids," Lloyd instructed, "Zane, Nya, you two check outside for anything. Ace and I will check inside the building, in case it's a false alarm."

This caused the children to look around in panic as their parents ran off. They weren't trained yet and something may have already happened!

"Hey, come on, heh heh," Jay tried to calm them, "I'm sure everything will work out. How about we tell some stories to take our minds off it? Heh heh.." As much as he tried to hide it, he was panicking as well.

“But what if something bad happened?!” Amber looked at him in disbelief that he could deny anything, “I can defend myself just fine, but these morons can’t! There could be something coming to get us right now!”

"That's why Lloyd had me stay here, ok?" Jay replied, "I'm just trying not to cause a panic! Because I'm panicking already and we don't need more people panicking!" 

"Also, I can totally beat you," Spike huffed, "I actually have a useful power AND use it."

“Puh-lease!” Amber looked at her brother,crossing her arms, ”I have my choice of any of the powers in this room!”

"Then copy mine and we'll see who the better fighter is, once and for all!" Spike challenged, ready to go.

"Come on you two, there's no need for this.. heh.." Jay steeped in, breaking them up.

"You think your brother is ok?" Jewel turned to Luna, worried, "I know he isn't much of a people person, but I don't want him hurt."

“I hope...I’m sure he’s fine..” despite her positive words, there was fear in her voice, “I mean, he already ran off once, and Mommy found him and said he was fine.”

"Wait, he ran off?" Jewel asked, "I mean, why would he do that? It's not like nobody cares for him."

“Well...he kinda..hurt me..w-with his powers...a-and he thought he was a monster, and ran off so he wouldn't hurt me again..”

"Oh," Jewel muttered, "Well, he didn't mean to, right?.. Sometimes accidents happen."

"Is anyone there?" a child's voice rang out, one that none of the other kids heard before, "Please, help me!"

Jay looked to the sound then the kids, "Stay here, I'll be back, ok?" With that, he ran off.

"Perfect," Spike smirked, "I can finally show you who's better, Amber!"

“Was that your brother??” Lilly looked at Luna, having heard nothing from him when he was here, she didn't know what he sounded like.

Luna shook her head in reply, also unfamiliar with the voice.

"Perhaps someone was left here by accident?" the Nindroid in the room finally spoke up, "Community centers are open to the public, after all."

“Well, my dad’ll figure it out,” Lilly smiled, trying to calm everyone down, especially Zack, who was not hugging her arm.

*****

It was about 15 minutes later, with no sign of the adults, when Lucas returned, holding a small dragon in his arms. "Watt, you really scared me," he mumbled, "Especially with you running around and growling like that. What got into you?.."

“LUCAS!!” The small master of sound gasped in relief and ran to hug her brother, “YOU’RE OK!! Where were you?!”

"Watch out, you might squeeze Watt," Lucas responded, "I really don't wanna have to find him again. He practically ran around growling and almost blasting everything."

The said dragon was squirming around, whining, 'Tight! Tight!'

“Sorry!" Luna yelped as she let go, realising she may be hurting them. “But what was wrong?” she tilted her head, looking at Watt.

'Bad smells,' he growled again, 'Something was here. Something bad.' Lucas just blinked, not understanding a bit of it, then looked to Luna for a translation.

“Something was here..?” Luna asked out loud, for the benefit of everyone else. 

Lilly kept trying to comfort Zack as he held on tighter to her, "What was it?.."

"Ok, is no one going to mention that he somehow has a BABY DRAGON?!" Amber interrupted before anyone else could speak.

"I think we're more concerned with what happened with our parents, Amber," Jewel sighed.

"Eh, our dad can take care of himself," Spike huffed.

Lucas just had a look of worry on his face as he looked to Luna. He was scared, he had an idea what, or rather who, could be behind this, but without proof, well… it was just an idea. "Luna," he spoke up, "We should search for clues on what came here."

“Well..” the girl looked at the adorable, yet panic-stricken dragon, “What does it smell like?”

'Don't know,' he whined, for the dragon had to smell something like that.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Lilly spoke up, "But if something bad happened, shouldn't we just call the cops or something? I mean we should probably leave, right?"

“But what if it’s nothing?? We could be fined for wasting police time!” Jewel replied. 

"A bunch of ninja don't disappear for no reason, Jewel," Lilly countered.

"Plus, what will the cops do?" Spike added, "File a missing persons report? They could be dead by then!"

At this, Zack whimpered, not liking the idea of his parents being dead. Personally, he wanted out of there himself, but was too afraid to say anything.

Lucas turned to Luna, he wanted to search the area, however he never signed up for leading them. Expected to, sure. But willing to? Not really. 

“Well.. alright. “ Luna nodded, her organisational skills coming in handy, “Everyone form a single file line, and we’ll race-walk to the nearest store so we can at least get to semi-safety." The line was mainly so no one got stuck from all trying to cram through the door at the same time. Comical as it may sound, it would be a dangerous mistake to make right now. 

The other kids looked at each other, nodding. That is, except Amber and Spike. As they were too busy arguing who would be in front of the other. Neither of them wanting to concede to the other sibling, as in their heads, it was a way of determining their greatness. For everyone else, it just slowed things down.

Luna grumbled in annoyance, guiding everyone who would listen into a line. 

It was only when everyone else was in line that they begrudgingly did the same. The argument was likely saved for a later date. With that, they finally started to head out of the building. The closest shop nearby happened to be a clothing store, but at this point, anything was better than where they were.

And with a calm disposition, despite how much she was shaking on the inside, Luna lead them into said store, and ran up to the front desk. 

“E-excuse me! O-our parents have all gone missing!” She knew that with Jay missing, the others surely would be too. And that was what was causing her to stutter. 

The woman behind the counter gasped, "Oh my! Are you all alright?! What happened?! Do you want me to call the cops for you?!"

It was Amber this time who faced the woman, "Look, I need to call my mom, I have no idea if she is gone like my dad. So if you have a phone, that would be appreciated. Preferably many as my mom gets busy."

“Do you know her phone number?” The woman tilted her head, not able to figure out if Amber was at the age where one would be able to remember such things. 

"Of course, I mean she does run the largest noodle chain restaurant in Ninjago," Amber eyerolled, "She practically lives at work." She then turned to Spike, "You get over here. I need as much help as possible calling her."

“Of course you need help. You can’t do anything without me!” he huffed triumphantly. 

“And the rest of you,” the lady turned to the children. “You don’t know your parents’ numbers?” 

Lucas looked to Luna, he knew their dad didn't like giving out his phone number. Usually because he'd get called constantly by fans if they knew it. As for their mom, well, he didn't know if her ringer was even on as she was sensitive to sound. If they'd even answer is yet another problem.

In response, the brunette shook her head. 

The woman nodded, "Well, I can show the two of you that does know their parents' numbers the phone. If no one answers I can call the cops. I'm sure they'll find them." With that, she took Spike and Amber to the backroom. 

Watt whined and Lucas picked him up, "It'll be ok Watt. We'll figure out what happened. Let's just hope their mom is ok. That way we can rest before anything happens."

*****

It was about a half hour before a car stopped outside the shop. In came the mother of Spike and Amber, Skylor. She didn't seem to be targeted by whatever was after Kai, luckily. She sighed in relief to see that all the kids were intact. "Alright, all of you, get in the car," she instructed, "I don't know where you're parents are, but you'll be safe with me until this is all over. Spike, Amber, you two are to treat them like guests until they get back to their homes."

To which, the two groaned in annoyance. They had to be nice?! 

"Do you two want to be grounded?" Skylor glared as the other kids headed into the car, "Now get in the car, I'm not leaving you two here to argue."

The two huffed, begrudgingly shifting into the car. 

Skylor soon got in the car and looked at all the kids and dragon behind her, "Is everyone ready to go? I'm not about to make any hospital trips."

They all nervously nodded, naturally being quite anxious and worried about their parents. What could be strong enough to take them down?! Were they ok?! What if they were next?!

As Skylor started the car and drove off, Lucas looked out the window, Watt on his lap. To many, this didn't mean much, but to Luna, she knew something was on his mind. Because if he was acting normal, he'd be on his laptop by now, practicing his coding.

Making sure she sat next to him for his sake, Luna lightly patted him and muttered to a level where only he — and maybe whoever was sat on the other side of her — would hear, “Are you alright, Lucas..?”

"I need to go back," he muttered, "I think I know who did this. But I need proof as well as an idea where all our parents are."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Jewel asked, having indeed heard the conversation and also kept her voice down.

Lucas sighed and muttered some more, "Maybe, but it's even more dangerous for Ninjago if we don't. Our parents are ninja, and as far as I know, it takes a ninja to find a ninja. So, as much as I hate the idea of being one, I have to find them — Scratch that. WE have to find them. No one else can, not when it comes to facing the evil our parents do."

"You're insane," Spike spoke up, though quietly, from the seat behind Luna.

"Yeah, we haven't even trained yet," Jewel pointed out in a hushed tone.

Lucas looked out the window for a bit, he knew he'd have to lie. But he wished he didn't have to in front of Luna, "Yeah, guess you're right."

*****

Lloyd had begun to wake up, a bit groggy, feeling a prick in his neck. As he brought his hand up, he saw it was shackled, along with his ankles. 'Benchstone,' he thought before sighing and pulling whatever was in his neck out. As he looked over what he grabbed, he shook his head, 'Knockout dart, just what I needed.' As he stood up, he looked around the room he was in, it was covered in Benchstone, his chains bolted down with it too. There was a door, but knowing his situation, it was more than likely locked, but he couldn’t test his theory due to the length of his chains. A toilet was also in the corner, old but it was at least something. But perhaps the most peculiar objects were the security camera up in the corner to the left of the door and the TV hanging up in the corner to the right of the door inside a Benchstone cage. 'Looks like I'm going to be here for a while,' he then slid back down to sit, 'I just hope Ace and the others are alright.. and the kids.'

Little did he know, the other ninja were in a similar position thanks to a dastardly Serpentine. If Ninjago knew, well, there'd surely be panic, and that's exactly what the snake wanted to happen.

*****

By now it was night and the other kids had fallen asleep, whether it be in their rooms or in Skylor's living room. Lucas sighed, Watt on his shoulder as he had on his backpack and started to head out while Skylor was nowhere in sight. Hood pulled up, he went out the door, shutting it quietly behind him. "I'm sure they'll understand, Watt," he whispered to his dragon, "It's just there's too much on the line. We have to do this."

With that, the future Master of Energy ran off into the night filled skies of New Ninjago City. His mission, and his destiny, taking a running start.


	4. Episode 4: Night Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, over 50 hits! Honestly, I'm kinda flattered XD I also would like to apologize for the delay for this chapter, I write this with someone else and unfortunately things got in the way. But here's to 50 more hits!

Everyone was at Skylor's table, eating breakfast. However, it was oddly silent. Somehow, the Smith siblings were just as quiet as Lucas. Zack wasn't even touching — or zapping — his food. 

To Skylor, something was definitely up, and she sighed, putting down her chopsticks, "What's going on?"

The kids all turned to look at her.

"Out with it," Skylor crossed her arms, "Clearly something happened as Spike and Amber are never silent and last time I checked, Lucas didn't have a cut on his cheek."

The kids then looked at each other, then Lucas, causing the boy to sigh. "Alright," he muttered, "It started when I ran off in the middle of the night…"

*****

Outside a window, Lucas hid, ducking down in case anyone may see him. Watt was following close by and watch as his friend zipped up his jacket and pulled on the hood. Being black, even the dragon had a bit of difficulty seeing the boy's torso. It was definitely better than leaving his white shirt exposed, as it was much brighter and more obvious in the dark. "Come on," the boy soon told the dragon in a hushed whisper, "I need you to see if anyone is inside."

With a yip, the Energy Dragon climbed on top of the boy and hopped into the windowsill. After a little bit, Watt turned to Lucas and purred, smiling.

"Good job Watt," Lucas praised, standing up. The boy then checked the window, testing if it was locked. Unfortunately for him, it was. But things were about to get worse.. as he failed to notice his sister running up behind him.

“There you are!” She whisper-shouted. “You know how worried I was?! I can’t believe you’d put yourself in such danger!”

"Luna," Lucas whispered, looking at her, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lied but… I knew you'd try to stop me and unfortunately we are the only people with any idea what happened to our parents. I'm not saying I want to do this Luna. I'm saying that I need to do this. Whether you help me or not is up to you but.. I-I can't let Mom and Dad be captured or worse! I just.." The boy went down to a mumble, his sister's powers allowing her to hear, "I just want everyone to be safe.."

The girl sighed, taking her brothers hands, “Lucas, I understand that.. but we’d be way more likely to save them if we had help."

"I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN UP EARLIER!" a familiar voice shouted, "THEY GOT HERE FIRST!"

"Shut up Spike," another familiar voice spoke up, "At least I'm not drawing attention."

"Powerhoarder," Spike grumbled.

"Well," Lucas looked at the two arguing between each other, then Luna, "I guess they're our help. I mean.. Dad said we were all a team, right?.."

Luna sighed, rubbing her forehead in annoyance, “Guess so..”

"Spike, Amber," Lucas called out to them, "Come on, we need your help."

"Of course you do," Spike smirked before running over.

"Please, he needs me more!" Amber countered as she ran over as well.

Lucas gave a sigh and spoke to them in a whisper as they got close, "Just keep your voices down." After getting a raised eyebrow from one sibling and an eye roll from the other, Lucas turned back to the window, attempting to open it. Fortunately, it seemed to be unlocked. 

Sliding open the window, Lucas climbed inside, taking his time. He wanted to be as quiet as possible. Luna followed suit, seemingly getting the message. As for Amber and Spike, They were both trying to get in at the same time and ending up stuck.

"Move your big head and ego!" whispered-shouted Amber to her brother, "I'm trying to get through!"

"Then get your body out of the way!" Spike snapped back in a whisper.

Lucas turned around to put a finger to his lips towards them as he snuck around. With their small, shared space, however, the two siblings didn't really care. That is, until they finally fell inside the building after an uncomfortably long shuffling match. Luna shook her head at the scene while they dusted themselves off.

"Hey, isn't this the room Dad was put in?" Amber quietly pointed out, looking around.

Almost everything seemed as if Kai had never been there, though. It was odd really. Hard to imagine anything happened, but it left Lucas in thought. How could they possibly be left without a trace of him or even hear nothing at all? He tried to wrap his head around it, yet nothing added up.

"Yeah, it is," Luna mumbled as she looked around.

A yip was then heard followed by some scratching. Lucas hurried over to crouch over where his dragon was. Watt yipped at him then scratched underneath the couch. "Hey guys," Lucas whispered, "I think Watt found something. We need to move the couch though."

"Alright, then move out of the way," her quietly huffed, going to the left side of the couch to pull it from the wall, with little success.

"I'll help," Lucas offered in a soft voice. 

Amber huffed at this, her pride attacked. She did not resist Lucas, however, as she knew she couldn't move the couch on her own. If only Spike wasn't there to watch.

Spike oddly enough, wasn't watching. He was unlocking the door. "I'm going ahead," he turned to the others and spoke in barely a whisper, "After all, I have fire powers, I can see in the dark." Before anyone could say anything, he turned the knob and opened the door while producing a small fire in his other hand to see with.

"Wait!" Lucas called out, "I'm coming too!" He hurried over, leaving the couch to the two girls and the dragon.

"Then hurry up, slowpoke," the other boy huffed, allowing Lucas to catch up.

"Of course they leave us here," Amber mumbled, "Now come help with the couch, will you?"

“Watt, what do you smell?” Luna looked at the small creature. 

'Smells a bit like a human.. and bad,' the dragon gave a bit of a growl at the end.

"Hey, I think I see my dad's phone under here," Amber whisper-yelled to Luna as she looked under the couch..

“Does it look cracked? If so, we can assume there was a struggle.”

"Yeah, it took a hit," Amber pulled it out from under the couch, pressing the power button, "Yet it still works, if you count being in 'Emergency Signal Mode', whatever that is. It won't even open without some program activation, which is dumb if you can't open the phone."

"Well, let's take it with us," Luna suggested, "Lucas might know something."

*****

As the girls were busy in the first room they entered, the boys were exploring the room they had been gathered in. Nothing seemed out of place, but they couldn't leave a single place unchecked.

"See anything?" Spike asked, deciding nothing important was in any of the drawers of the furniture.

"No," Lucas sighed as he checked the windows, all of which were locked. This only made things more confusing for the boy. How did his suspect get in?..

"Then let's move on," Spike suggested, "Maybe we can try and follow where everyone's parents are."

"But that won't be easy unless we split up," Lucas brought up,"If only we had more help."

"Well, we don't," Spike brought up, "Now I'm heading where my uncle went. You check the kitchen."

Lucas sighed, "I can't see."

"Aren't you supposed to be able to use that 'Gold Powder' or whatever?" Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Golden Power," Lucas corrected, "As far as controlling it.. well.." He gave a sheepish look, "That's debatable at best…"

"Well, you're on your own," Spike then walked off, leaving Lucas in the dark.

Lucas shook his head and stuck to the lighting provided by the windows as he looked for a reasonable path to find the kitchen.

It wasn't long before he saw a couple of light shining down the hall. Quickly, he turned to see not only the source of the light, but someone accompanying it.

"Greetings," the small Nindroid smiled, not at all whispering, "Jewel told me to come find you and the others who ran off. She was worried for your safety."

"Can you at least keep it down?" Lucas whispered, trying not to draw attention.

"Lucas," Jewel spoke in a hushed manner, "we should head back."

"How did you even get here?" Lucas asked in a hushed tone, concerned.

"We walked through the front door along with Zack and Lilly," Robert replied on a lower volume setting, "They were concerned about all of you, so they joined us."

"... We're not alone," Lucas mumbled, eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" Jewel asked, confused, "We're all in the building."

"I believe," a voice spoke up from seemingly nowhere, not at all hushed, "he meanss me." From behind, a large white snake revealed itself, fading into view, "I mussst apologize, I thought I'd be alone here, ssso I'm ssorry to ssay that I can't let you leave here alive." The snake glared at them with its last comment, pulling from its side one of the four Silver Fangblades.

"Pythor," Lucas growled, now speaking normally, "I had a feeling you did this." Then he turned to Jewel and Robert, "RUN!"

The kids didn't waste a second. They all ran off to escape the snake. Eventually, they locked themselves into one of the music rooms, hiding amidst the instruments and equipment from the Anacondrai that lurked in the hall.

"Now what?" whispered Jewel, "We can't go back out there!"

Lucas was sparking with green energy, as he tried to stay calm, mumbling to himself, "I can't believe I said that…"

"It is preferred that you take deep breaths to relax," Robert smiled, speaking quietly.

Lucas nodded a bit, and after a few minutes, his breathing became more regulated, the Sparks gone. "Th-thanks," he mumbled, "Not that it helps with Pythor.."

"Speaking of which, what are we going to do about Pythor?" Jewel asked.

"If we do not act, it is 83% likely Pythor will attack the rest of us," Robert responded, "If we run now, there is a 77% chance he will capture us."

"The others!" Jewel gasped, "I almost forgot about them! We have to do something!"

Lucas was silent for a minute then spoke up, "Wh-what if we fight him?"

"Are you crazy?!" Jewel whisper-yelled, "I can't even do a ground pound!"

Lucas sighed, "Well, crazy runs in my family. You can blame my dad for passing that on, but we can't let Pythor get to the others. In fact, I may have a plan, but we will have to split up. Robert will come with me and show me where my father went while you go and warn the others, Jewel."

"Alright, but I don't like this," with that, Jewel carefully made her way to the door to unlock it and snuck out, closing it behind her and ran off to find the others. As for Lucas and Robert, the former of the two signaled the latter to wait. Pythor may be waiting for them.

*****

It was about ten minutes before Lucas headed towards the door, nodding for Robert to come with him. The Nindroid did so, and they quietly made their way out.

"Follow me," the Nindroid quietly instructed as he headed down the hall.

*****

"Guys!" Jewel whisper-yelled to Luna, Amber, and Zack, who had found them earlier, "We have a problem and need to leave!"

"What?!" Amber almost rose above a whisper-yell.

"Pythor is here," Jewel quickly explained, "We need to leave, he's going to kill us! Lucas has a plan, but we need to leave now! Where's Spike and Lilly?!"

"We.. don't know…" Luna mumbled, "Last one who saw Spike was Lucas…".

'I can help!' Watt yipped before sniffing the air and running out the door before yipping at Jewel, 'Follow me!'

"Alright, I'll admit it, I really wish I had a dragon," Jewel spoke to no one in particular while looking at Watt before turning back to the humans in the room, "Come on! We're following a dragon."

"Well of course," Amber rolled her eyes, "Spike is the stupid one after all."

"Lilly.." Zack mumbled, seemingly looking at Jewel.

There was then a whine from the dragon as it backed into the room.

"Huh?" Jewel looked at the dragon then out into the hall to see not just Lilly and Spike, but a Serpentine holding them.

"Ssorry," Pythor grinned, "I've sseem to have forgotten my invitation."

"LET ME GO!" Spike shouted as he tried to kick the Anacondrai, his arms currently held against his body just as Lilly's were.

Jewel started backing up, "Stay back!"

"Why, that'sss no way to treat a guesst," the Serpentine slithered closer, the Silver Fangblade in a sheath against his side.

*****

"Sore wa doko ni aru?! (Where is it?!)" Lucas was looking up down the hall, mumbling to himself, "I swear I checked every room!"

"My scanner indicates an object has been placed under the carpet," Robert announced.

"LET ME GO!" 

Lucas looked up, "Spike.. Robert, we need to hurry, please show me where you found the object."

"Certainly," the Nindroid smiled, happy to help.

*****

The two kids were then tossed into the group as Pythor grabbed the Fangblade he brought with him. "Now," he chuckled, "I shall sssee to your demisse."

As the children, and the dragon, got ready to defend themselves, Pythor swung his tail from behind to knock them all back and onto the ground.

Spike was the first to try and get up, being met by a Fangblade in-between his eyes. 

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the snake spoke, yet his strike was interrupted.

"PYTHOR!" a familiar voice rang out.

"Lucas?!" Luna knew her brother anywhere, but what was he thinking?! "Lucas, get out of here!" she begged.

The Anacondrai turned to face the child who called his name. "Sso, the brat really had hisss own little brat," the serpent hissed, "How.. annoying!"

"Not as annoying as you!" the child retorted.

While the Anacondrai was focused on Lucas, Robert snuck by to get to the others and spoke at a low volume, "You must leave now, follow me."

The dragon whined, worried for Lucas, and looked to the boy.

"It will be alright," the Nindroid replied, "We must leave now so that if he needs help, we can do so."

In the end, they reluctantly agreed to escape through the window the first few of them entered, Luna praying to the Golden Dragon that her brother will make it out.

*****

The Anacondrai quickly knocked Lucas to the floor, pinning him with his tail. A hiss escaped his scaly lips as he tried to stab the boy, who moved at the last second, instead leaving a long scratch down his cheek. Blood began to leak from it.

"If you won't stay still," the snake wrapped his tail around the boy, lifting him, "Then I'll make you!" The boy was then thrown against a wall.

Lucas was in pain, he hurt all over, but he couldn't let Luna get captured.. as Pythor will surely kill her. He brought out the golden dagger Robert helped him find and after mumbling a quick prayer, got up and ran to attack.

Blade met Fangblade. The boy struggled against the superior strength of the serpent. He feet was then knocked from under him by Pythor's tail. If he died today, Lucas hoped it was worth it. 

Once again, the Anacondrai held him down, this time around his neck, making it hard for.the boy to breathe, the dagger dropping from his hand as he tried to pry the Serpentine's tail off of himself. 

He could hear the chuckling of the Anacondrai. It hurt, but not as much as the regret he felt. Why did he think he could do this?! Why did Luna ever believe in him?! 'What would she tell me?..' he thought to himself as he closed his eyes, 'What would Mom and Dad say?..'

_ 'I believe in you Lucas, I know you can do it! You're stronger than you know! Nothing can hold my brother back when he puts his mind to it!' _

_ 'Everyone has an inner strength, Lucas. It may take time ta find, but if you keep your heart open, I know you shall stronger than even your father.'_

_ 'Remember, it's not about the strength of the ninja in the fight, it's about the strength of the fight in the ninja! So, no matter what, you must always get back up and show the world you won't back down!' _

'They're right,' Lucas opened his eyes, 'I can't give in. But what can I do?.. I already feel my breath getting shorter… Pythor is way too strong to face alone! But.. I'm not really alone am I?.. In a way, my dad, my mom and even Luna are by my side. So, I can do this! I have to for them!' He then looked to the Anacondrai, a growing face of determination setting in as the Serpentine grinned, 'I will win! I won't give in!' Then, his eyes went blank. A golden glow surrounding the boy as he took hold of the snake's tail.

The Anacondrai hissed and pulled back his tail as he felt the child's hands become as hot as a stovetop. "I'll get you for that!" Pythor glared at the boy who picked up the dagger, but got no response from them. Unless a flaming dagger counted as one.

The child ran at the snake, jumping over its tail as it slashed the flaming dagger across the Serpentine's chest. Another hiss erupted from the snake as it slithered back. It attempted to rush the boy, that is until a fireball found its way in front of him, coming from the boy's other hand. The boy then jumped and kicked the snake in the head with a flaming kick. It was an understatement to say that the Serpentine didn't expect this. 

The Anacondrai soon cloaked itself with its surroundings, but the boy wasn't afraid. Putting the dagger in his pocket, he instead set the area around him on fire and spread it to chase away the Anacondrai. 

The boy waited for it to return, but Pythor never came back. The other kids, however, did, and Lilly was quick to put out the fires as Lucas regain his awareness, shaking and holding his head, wishing his headache would go away, wherever it came from. In fact, where had Pythor gone?..

"Lucas!" Luna ran to her brother, "Are you ok?! Robert apparently had infrared sensors and holographic imaging technology that could see what was going on! He said Pythor was choking you then you burned him and fought back and even scared him away!"

"Luna," Lucas mumbled, "I have a headache, please limit the amount of sentences I have to process.."

His sister sighed, "You were being choked by Pythor and I'm guessing your Golden Power acted up, are you ok?"

"Yeah," Lucas nodded, "I would like to take a nap for the sake of relaxing, though."

"Well, Amber found something you should look at," Luna added, "It can wait until tomorrow morning though, I'm just glad you're ok." 

"Come on everyone, let's get out of here," Jewel suggested and for once, everyone agreed.

*****

Once the kids were done finishing their story, Skylor sighed. She had her eyes closed, thinking of what to say for several minutes before finally saying something and looking at them, "You all could have been seriously hurt. For that, I'm disappointed in all of you for even thinking you should do that. On the other hand, I should expect as much from Lloyd's son. My mother told me the Elemental Masters had their patterns, but in terms of Energy, I could never have dreamed how determined they are. 'Making the impossible look easy' is how it's usually described. I'd also like to mention that another side of me is proud of all of you for working together and being able to handle such a scenario. Not that I'd want it to happen again. So, I've decided that this event will go under the rug, but next time, you better tell me when something is going on. You'll need equipment after all."

At the last sentence Skylor spoke, the kids looked at each other. Were they going to be actual Ninja-In-Training?! That also reminded Amber about her discovery.

"By the way," Amber spoke up, "Dad's phone said something about a NEBBS program, does anyone know what it is and how to use it?"

Skylor, Lucas, and Luna all seemed to perk up upon hearing "NEBBS".

"It's an acronym, Amber," Skylor looked to her daughter, "It stands for Ninja Emergency Biosign Broadcast System. Your father said it was based off technology they used back when they were in training on the Bounty. Mr. Borg just revised it into NEBBS, but as far as how to use it, we need not only his phone but someone with the program, which I personally don't have access to. You can thank your grandfather for that, Amber. They thought I might pose a potential risk to the system."

"Well," Lucas spoke up, "I have a copy of NEBBS on my laptop. Never used it before but Dad made me have it on my laptop and desktop."

"Then it looks like we may just have found a way to locate them," Skylor spoke up.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to comment what you think and stay tuned for the next episode!


End file.
